William d



(No Model.)

W. D. CULWELL.

GATE.

Patented June 20, 1893.

:lilorney WIZESSES TH: No'nms E1-Ens cammino-1.11m.. wAsNmaToN, o, c.

UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM D. CULWELIJ, OF AUBURN, NEBRASKA.

^ GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,970, dated .T une 20, 1893.

Appiipptipiiiileanpiii13.1393. serip1Np.47o,217. (Nomade.) t

a citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at Auburn,in the county of Nemaha and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which .it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had-'to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a swinging gate with latch mechanism which is so constructed that the weight of the gate will co-act with the latches to hold them in engagement with the catches on the gate post, the latch mechanism also serving to elevate the free end of the gate as it is swung open so that the gate will automatically close.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the parts, as will be hereinafter fullyset forth,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure l is -a perspective view of a gate constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a view of the rear end of the gate', showing its connection with the gate-post, and Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the rear end of the gate.

A and A designate the gate-posts, the post A having attached thereto catches a a. the upper surfaces of which are inclined toward the central notch. At the lower end of the post A is located a base-piece b, and at the upper end is secured a projecting plate b the outer end of which is provided with perforations c c, and between said perforations is an aperture CZ which receives a pin projecting upwardly from a fixture D, said fixture having side members which embrace the gate and permit the same to slide therein to assume the position shown in Fig. 2. The lower end of the gate has attached thereto a strap e which extends under the gate and' is provided with an aperture e to receive a pivot-pin e2 projecting from the base-piece b. By this means the gate is pivoted to the post to have both a swinging and a tilting movement.

E and E designate the latches, the lower latch, E', being pivoted between the short vertical battens ff, while the upper latch, E, is

pivoted between the diagonal braces f' f so that the pivots of the latches will -be out of a vertical line. The upper latch is connected to the lower latch by a connection g, which may be either a wire loop or a bar having bent ends, and it will be noted that the upper latch is extended to provide a hand-grasping portion. The lower latch hasconnected thereto lexible connections h Z1. which extend therefrom around suitable guides i t' up to and through guides k to a ring attached to the ends of short chains Z Z, said chains being connected to the plateb by means of' the perforations c c therein.

In operation,when it is desired to open the gate the operator depresses the projecting end of the latch E and the end which engages with the catch will move the lower latch with it and raise the gate by means of the exible connections h h. The latches being free the gate can be swung'open, and as it `swings one of the flexible connections h will be tightened while the other becomes slack, thus tilting the free end of the gate so that it will close automati cally. When the gate is closed the weight is partially' supported by the connections h h so las to hold the latches in 4positive engagement with the catches.

The guide 7c is preferably made of a single piece, comprising a loop which embraces the upper rail of the gate and an eye at each end through which the flexible connections pass, and should the flexible connections become slack they can be readily tightened by changing the position of the guide upon the rail.

Having .thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is.

l. A gate pivoted to a support at its lower end and held in sliding engagement with a ixture at the upper portion of a supporting post, a plate secured tothe upper end of the supporting post and. projecting therefrom, flexible connections Z Z attached to the plate, and a flexible connection h connected to the flexible connections Z Z and extending therefrom over suitable guides to a pivoted latch, said latch being adapted to engage with a IOO catch attached to the gate post, substantially as shown, and' for the purpose settorth.

2. In combination with a swinging gate movably connected to the supporting post at its lower end, a plate or projection secured to the upper end of the post, a fixture pivoted thereto and provided with depending members which embrace the upper .rail of the gate and permit a sliding movement of the same in the l fixture, flexible connections attached to the projecting ends of the plate, said flexible connections being brought-together tof engage with flexible conectionsy h h which are attached to the late bar, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

3:1 InE au gatef constructed substantially as the gate slides when swung upon its pivot, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

` In testimony whereof I aix mysignaturein presence of two witnesses.

\ WILLIAM D. CULWELL. f `Witnesses:

HENRY J. F; WERT, JOSEPH IBALDEa 

